Reading Lessons

It’s a truth almost universally acknowledged that the more enjoyable a task is, the more likely it is that anyone will want to do that task. It should come as no surprise, then, that kids like doing the tasks that they find fun to do. And what seems like commonsense has the weight of research backing it as well: Educators and researchers have found that a student’s enjoyment of learning directly relates to their desire and willingness to learn. The more enjoyable learning is, the more likely that a student will engage in that activity. Mary Poppins was right: “In every job that must be done there is an element of fun. You find the fun and snap! The job’s a game!”

Reading lessons for kids are no exception. Reading lessons can make learning to read a fun and enjoyable activity. But it’s easy to question why it is so important for kids to enjoy learning. After all, isn’t it more important what a child is learning, rather than how they are learning? Interestingly, educators and researchers have found that it very much matters how a child learns, for the more enjoyable a learning task is, the more motivation students have to continue engaging in that activity. And here’s why it matters: the more time a student spends on a certain task, the more the student learns.

This is certainly the case for reading and its relation to reading lessons. Reading success is directly related to the amount of time a student spends on the activity of reading. And the most effective reading lessons for kids are enjoyable for students to engage with from the start, and they also can increase kids’ motivation to continue completing and succeeding the reading activities.

The Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress programs offer kids the opportunity to engage in a research-based reading program that is also fun. The programs use a variety of reading lessons that are game-like in nature. The Reading Eggs program helps kids develop the reading skills needed to become strong readers. These reading skills include:

• Phonemic awareness

• Phonics skills

• Fluency in reading

• Vocabulary building

• Text comprehension.

Reading Eggs combines all of these reading skills into an engaging and kid-friendly learning world which kids enjoy interacting with. From the first moment that a child uses Reading Eggs, they are immersed in a learning environment that is fun and enjoyable to use.

The very first reading lessons take place in a child-friendly, child-safe virtual world, moving the kids from a zoo, to a playground to a theme park. Kids love following the maps in this virtual world, and moving their character along the ‘path’ which is easy seen on the screen, and looks not unlike a board from a board game.

Kids enjoy the journey that their character takes in these three worlds, the zoo, the playground, and the theme park, and parents and teachers love the fact that each world is packed with 40 reading lessons of fantastic, research-based content.

But the reading lessons, which are reading games for kids, aren’t the only fun element of the program. The Reading Eggs program encourages kids to complete learning activities and continue working through the program by increasing their motivations to do so through providing age-appropriate reward systems. These reward systems are high-interest, compelling and child-centred, and are activated each time a child completes a learning activity or a lesson.

When kids complete each Reading Eggs activity, they are rewarded with Golden Eggs. These eggs get deposited into their personal Eggy Banks for them to “spend” later on games, clothes for their Reading Eggs character, and furnishings for their characters online home. This is a rich, multi-dimensional reward system that encourages a high level of interest and participation from kids. As students watch the Golden Eggs land in their Eggy Banks, and watch the eggs grow in number, they can see the clear link between their rewards and their work in the Reading Eggs program.

The game-like activities are integral to the Reading Eggs program, and help kids develop motivation to learn. The activities encourage kids to play as they learn, and, when kids succeed (which the program ensures that they do experience consistent success—which also motivates them to keep engaging with the program), they are rewarded with prizes.

The playful elements of the program are integrated into every reading lesson and suit the learning style of children, who learn best through play. Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress use a wide range of short, highly motivational, reading lessons that offer consistent rewards, which encourages even the most reluctant readers to actively participate.

Testimonials

The program is excellent and we were delighted that our daughter learnt to read in less than six months and was way ahead of her peers in Kindergarten when assessed. We are always recommending it to other parents. Thanks!

- Angela

A big thank-you to the people at Reading Eggs. My students thoroughly enjoy using the program regularly through the week as part of their literacy activities. It has strengthened their reading abilities in an independent fashion.

- Jordan Tate, Gladesville Primary School